The present invention relates to a resource handler for use in an operational support structure for managing a telecommunications network, comprising a service and resource database arrangement containing information regarding network resources. The invention also relates to a method of structuring information in a resource handler database arrangement for use in such an operational support structure. Also, the invention relates to a use of a resource handler for a service type handler in an operational support structure for a telecommunications network, for creating and maintaining service type recipes and their relations.
Resource management in operation support systems for telecommunication is difficult due to the size and complexity of these types of networks. A telecommunication network normally changes constantly as new resources/services are added, and as old superfluous resources/services are removed or replaced. Often, a lack of information regarding available/redundant resources lead to stove-pipe solutions for particular services or networks with high levels of duplication. The lack of up-to-date information and the resulting duplication lead to higher management costs for the network operator. Sometimes resource investments are unnecessary because redundant resources may actually be available. There may be resources that supposedly are engaged by old services that are no longer active or have been replaced by new services that use other resources.
An operational support structure for a telecommunications network is for example described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,505. This support structure is divided into a set of domains each of which provides a particular management function for the network. This document teaches a general support structure but it provides very little details for implementing such a structure. Thus, there is no definite solution to the problem of how to handle network resources so that duplication is avoided.
EP-A-0 820 203 shows a method and an arrangement for making use of resources in a telecommunications network. This arrangement/method is however not satisfactory for several reasons. For example, it does not satisfactorily take into account the time that a resource exists. To do that, attributes have to be added containing information about time of existence. However, this would have to be done for every resource to make it meaningful, which would considerably reduce the performance.
Moreover it does not give a solution to the problem of adding entirely new attributes. It is also a disadvantage that it cannot be used by arbitrary processes but it is specifically designed to support the object-oriented SDI-process. The solution in EP-A-0 820 203 is not sufficiently flexible.
Ideally the service and resource database should be able to represent all existing and all future types of telecommunication equipment and network topologies in a simple data model in order to be able to manage the resources of an arbitrary network.